Superman Returns
| Superman Returns | |
|---|---|
 Superman Returns Teaser Poster | |
| Directed by | Bryan Singer |
| Written by | Michael Dougherty Dan Harris |
| Produced by | Gil Alder Jon Peters Bryan Singer |
| Starring | Brandon Routh Kate Bosworth Kevin Spacey |
| Edited by | Elliot Graham John Ottman |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Budget | $250,000,000 |
Superman Returns is a 2006 American superhero film based on the character Superman. The film is being directed by Bryan Singer and the role of Superman/Clark Kent will be played by Brandon Routh. The roles of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor will be played by Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey respectively. The screenplay was written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Filming started in February 2005 and the movie is to be released on June 30, 2006. The continuity established in Christopher Reeve's first two films will serve as its back-story. While not technically a sequel, the film picks up five years after the events of Superman II. Bryan Singer plans to incorporate unused footage of Marlon Brando's performance as Jor-El from the first movie starring Reeve. In addition, pieces of John Williams' classic film score will be adapted by composer John Ottman.
Plot summary
Following a mysterious absence of several years, the Man of Steel comes back to Earth. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the possibility that Lois Lane has moved on with her life. His return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world he loves from cataclysmic destruction, Superman embarks on a journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.
Cast
- Clark Kent/Superman .... Brandon Routh
- Lois Lane .... Kate Bosworth
- Lex Luthor .... Kevin Spacey
- Martha Kent .... Eva Marie Saint
- Richard White .... James Marsden
- Jimmy Olsen .... Sam Huntington
- Perry White .... Frank Langella
- Stanford .... Kal Penn
- Kitty Kolsowski .... Parker Posey
- Jor-El.... Marlon Brando
- Ben Hubbard .... James Karen
- Young Clark Kent .... Stephan Bender
- Formerly Wealthy Woman .... Noel Neill
- 777 Pilot .... Mike Massa
- Flight Attendant .... Peta Wilson
Project history
The project has had a long and protracted history stretching back to the mid-1990s with Kevin Smith and Tim Burton being signed on to write and direct respectively and Nicolas Cage slated to star as the Man of Steel in a movie version of the Death and Life of Superman storyline (then called Superman Lives). A Q&A session concerning Smith's dissatisfaction with Burton's intended direction of the project can be seen on the DVD release An Evening with Kevin Smith.
Other names attached during the years included directors Brett Ratner, Michael Bay and Charlie's Angels' McG, and actors Sandra Bullock, Beyoncé Knowles, Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, James Caviezel, Henry Cavill and Matthew Bomer. J.J. Abrams turned in a script that not only substantially revised the premises of the franchise (e.g. Luthor as an alien, Krypton not destroyed) but was also leaked onto the internet, receiving a generally hostile reaction by fans.
For a brief period in 2001 and 2002 a Superman and Batman film, Batman vs. Superman, was also put on the fast track to production with Wolfgang Petersen set to direct. Petersen eventually left to direct the film Troy and Warner Studios decided to concentrate on separate movies for each character.
The film was shot in Australia, on locations which included a farm located outside of the regional city of Tamworth, and in Sydney.
There is also a new Superman TV show called Superman: Animated Adventures which should come out in Fall 2006.